Never Ever Let It Go
by lexi.atel
Summary: Years after the second war, a Next Gen kid falls in love. OMC/OFC


Written for _Hogwarts Houses Challenges_ forum " ** _OTP Challenge_** ".

 **Main Prompt:** _Your OTP has sex for this first time._

 **Additional prompts:**

 _1\. (dialogue) "Why must you hurt me this way?"_

 _2\. (song) 'Never Ever' by All Saints_

 _3\. (item) napkin_

 _4\. (quote) "May you live as long as you wish, and love long as you live." from Robert A. Heinlein_

 _5\. (word) boring_

 **Summary:** _Years after the second war, a Next Gen kid falls in love. **Warnings: Original Characters.**_

* / *

"Want to go for a swim?" I asked my friend, Vincent Crabbe Goyle (but everyone calls him Vinny). I was already in my bathing suit, eagerly bouncing on my toes, anticipating the activity. I only needed to convince him to join me.

Vinny wrinkled his nose up at the suggestion and was trying to look around me to watch the telly. "That's boring," he mumbled, but I knew the real reason he didn't want to swim. While he was not as big as his father, he wasn't necessarily a fit sixteen year old boy.

"Come _on_ ," I urged him, pulling at his arm in an effort to make him stand up from the sofa where he sat. No luck though, he was too big and had made no effort to get up. "I'll let you keep your shirt on," I offered in hopes he would agree.

Vinny humphed but, to my surprise, he actually stood. "Fine," he grumbled. "But only because it's too bloody hot in here! Doesn't your mother believe in an AC?"

I grinned and began tugging him through my house in pursuit to the back deck. "Nope, she's a tightwad, and since she spends most of the hot days at work, in an office that is air conditioned, she doesn't care much about it."

"I'd take you to my home if I were allowed," Vinny said when we got outside. He sat himself at the edge of my in-ground pool and removed his sandals to dip his feet into the water.

"Why can't you?" I asked, making no hesitation to get into the pool. I sighed as the cool water soaked my legs, washing away my accumulated sweat. It was heavenly.

Vinny simply shrugged. It was obvious to me that he was not willing to explain.

"Is it because of your mother?" I asked softly. Vinny's mother was a sore subject as the woman had left Vinny and his father years ago when Vinny was only four years of age.

"Nah, he's over that bitch."

"You gonna come in?" I instantly changed the subject, noticing the scowl creeping up on his face. I dunked my head into the water before he could answer, completely soaking my swimsuit and hair then emerged with a gasp. I shivered as a light breeze brushed along my wet body, causing goose pimples to spread across my skin. "The water's quite lovely," I informed Vinny and slapped at the surface to splash him.

"Hey!" he bellowed, narrowing his eyes. "Don't get me wet!"

I laughed and splashed him again. "You're not gonna melt, mate!"

He shielded his face with his hands. "Stop that or you'll be sorry!"

"Whatcha gonna do, Vinny?" I taunted him with a childish sneer. I spat my tongue out at him when he gave me a glare because he was unable to come up with a real threat to make me quit my teasing.

Vinny let out a playful roar. "Alright then, Elise, you've asked for it!" His body made a big splash as he dove into the water after me. He kicked the pool's wall hard and went racing toward me. I shrieked and tried dodging his grasping hand, but he was surprisingly quick! I screamed as he pulled me under water. As soon as my head was submerged, he released my leg and his laughter rang into my ears, though it was dull from them being plugged from the water. He madly splashed water at me when I resurfaced and I had to turn away from the wall of water in order to breathe.

I shrieked and flung my hands out behind me, blindly splashing him back.

I had won and he probably didn't even realize it, but that was okay, I was happy to hear him laughing. He didn't do that enough. At least not in my opinion anyway.

* / *

Our parents were practically best friends so even Vinny's father came over often, spending the evenings with us and eating dinner before he would take Vinny back home. For some reason, they always came over with these interesting, fancy looking brooms. Mum and I never understood that, but hey, why judge them? We're all weird, right? I like to use bacon bits as an ice cream topping. Totally strange, I know! You don't need to tell me that!

After Vinny lost his shyness with being in the pool, we spent the rest of the summer mostly in it. Which was good, because it was one hot summer! On the last day of our vacation, our friendship sort of changed though...

When I went to get out of the pool, I saw Vinny's outstretched hand and looked up to see him staring at me. His lips twitched a bit and then he smiled. I didn't take my eyes off his as I set my hand into his, smiling at him back and stepping out the pool. In silence, he ran a towel down my shoulder and then dropped the towel to tuck some of my hair behind an ear.

"Has anyone told you that you have extraordinary eyes?" he asked in a whisper.

I looked at the ground. "No," I quietly answered him, nibbling on my lip.

"Never ever?" he was mildly shocked to hear this.

"Never ever..." my confirmation was whispered.

He set a hand up to my cheek and caressed it with his thumb, making me purse my lips as my pulse sped up. He dropped his hand, apologizing. "I was out of line," he said before snatching up his sandals and dashing into the house.

I was slightly dazed by the tingling sensation that his touch to my face had given me. It took a moment before I realized he had disappeared. I searched my home to find him locked up in the bathroom.

"Vinny," I rapped on the door gently.

"Go away," he grumbled.

"You can't stay in there all afternoon," I reasoned.

"Watch me!"

"For what it's worth, I like your eyes too..." I informed him after a thought. His eyes were mildly fascinating; almost a gold colour. Like _true_ gold.

Several moments passed before I heard the door unlock with a click and it swung slowly open. Vinny looked at me carefully. "Do you really mean that?" his voice was all quiet. He was afraid that I could be lying to him.

"Vinny," I started, setting a hand up to his chest. "We're best mates, I'd never lie to you."

Vinny's eyes wandered down to my hand, studying it. He tilted his head before looking back at my face. "Can I ask you something?" he asked in extreme caution.

I smiled. "Anything."

"Would you mind if I..." he paused to close his eyes and spit out the rest quickly, "Kissed you?"

The question was a shock to me. Until this day, I had never thought of Vinny as more than a friend but, besides me, I didn't think he had any friends. Or maybe they didn't live anywhere near him, as he went to a boarding school.

That thought brought me to my senses, I wouldn't see Vinny until the holidays. This saddened me a little. I was going to miss him dearly.

Vinny's eyes remained shut, and I noticed that he was holding his breath, waiting for my answer. Before he could turn blue, I carefully stepped closer to him and kissed him. I had only meant to quickly do it, just to humour him, but when his eyes flew open in complete shock, I had to make it last as long as I could, just because it was quite amusing. Vinny awkwardly set his hands onto my shoulders, making me wonder if he had ever kissed a girl before. This hadn't quite been my first kiss personally. I was fourteen, but that didn't mean I was totally clueless.

"Erm," he sheepishly chuckled when we finally separated. "Your lips are quite lovely," Vinny commented. "Very soft." His cheeks were reddening by the second.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Come on, let's go watch some telly before my mum gets home!"

* / *

It seemed like forever before we saw each other again, but when we did, we couldn't take our eyes off of one another. I didn't know about him, but I hadn't been able to get him off my of mind since that day when I had kissed him.

It had occurred to me that I may have been crushing on my best friend. Which was weird, because he wasn't some super hot movie star or anything. At first I had thought that maybe it was some teenage hormone or something, but I didn't get these feelings with any other guy in school that I had come across; even after having a bit of an _intimate_ moment with one insanely cute one.

 _No, Vinny is the only boy on my mind. I must_ really _like him._

Vinny took the first opportunity to speak to me in private while our parents were having tea in the kitchen. Gregory (he had insisted that I call him that) had been over off and on while Vinny had been in school. I went to a day school, so I got to see Vinny's father more than Vinny himself.

"I like you," Vinny blurted out as soon as we were well out of earshot of our parents.

"Well, I like you too, Vinny," I returned with a smile.

"No," he corrected firmly with a shake of his head. "I mean I _like_ you. You're always on my mind and in my dreams. You're a real distraction to my studies, Elise, and I just can't concentrate on a single bloody thing unless it's you! Your beautiful, ocean blue eyes, silky black hair, light tan skin, your plump, tender lips, that adorable smile of yours-"

A soft laugh escaped my throat, causing a pause in his rambling of my best qualities. I was immensely relieved to hear that the feeling was mutual. "Kiss me then," I ordered in a whisper, making him gawk at me. He must not had expected me to react like that. "I _like_ you too, Vinny," I said, stepping closer to him.

"You can't really mean that," he mumbled, shamefully glancing away. "I'm too fat..."

"Oh, _Vinny_..." Frowning, I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him close to me, trying to make him feel better. "I _do_ mean it, Vinny... And I'd like it very much if you would be my boyfriend..."

I felt my friend's body go completely rigid as if I had just told him to shove off and never talk to me again. He placed his hands at my upper arms and pushed me at his arm's length, looking deep into my eyes. "Really?" his voice was lost, all that came out was a croak.

"Seriously," and with that answer, I was abruptly pulled back to him with lips crushing against mine as he claimed me with his mouth.

* / *

"Why must you hurt me this way?"

I sighed. "I'm not _trying_ to hurt you."

"You certainly have a sick way in showing it!" Vinny muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It would be too weird," I tried explaining it to him. With our parents getting married, we'd be step siblings, and that just felt awfully funny to me. "Trust me, Vinny, this doesn't feel too good for me either, but if our parents ever found out about us do you think they would allow us to continue on?"

"I don't care! _We_ were officially together before they were!"

"That might not be true... Your dad came over _quite_ a bit this last year..."

"Big deal!" Vinny rolled his eyes. "I'm an adult now, so I don't have to care what my father thinks anymore! What I want is you! Please, Elise, don't do this! We belong together!"

Looking away sadly, I placed my hands into my pockets. My left one found a napkin that I had recently tucked away to dispense later. I gripped it in frustration, silently cursing my mother for ruining my life.I didn't disagree with Vinny, but after they were married, he'd be my brother. Only by marriage, but still... "I'm sorry..." I whispered truthfully.

I didn't see Vinny much after I broke up with him. Gregory would speak about him often, claiming that he was working some kind of government job. He never really went into many details over this, but I had noticed that he was very vague when he spoke about Vinny and their side of the family. It wasn't enough of an interest to make me question anything though.

When I went to University to further my education, I came home only a few times just to keep my mother happy. Truthfully, I had been upset that she had married my boyfriend's father. It's just too bad that deep down I couldn't really hate her like I wanted to. Mum was a good person. It wasn't her fault.

"Vinny will be here this year!" Mum informed me excitedly through the phone three years after I had moved out. She had noticed that we had separated off after their wedding and had drilled me for details on the reasoning. I would usually shrug her off, not wishing to tell her that she had ruined everything I had with Vinny. She didn't need that burden over her head.

"That's great!" I said, wondering why he would want to spend Christmas with us after missing the last four. "How's he doing?"

"He's divorced now," Mum announced sadly. "That poor boy. He's such a nice kid, but I guess Wendy wasn't the one."

I bit my lip, cradling the phone with my neck. "That's a shame." I truly felt bad for Vinny. Like myself, it seemed my ex-boyfriend was doomed from finding love.

"Yes, quite."

Two weeks later, it was like I was fifteen all over again. I stared at Vinny, who had aged extremely well. He had slimmed down, not entirely fit, but enough to make me notice. At the dinner table, I caught him looking at me occasionally, but when he saw that I noticed this, he'd quickly glance away and take a bite of his food. Neither of us spoke much unless one of our parents addressed us personally.

Gregory and Mum retired early to bed that night, leaving Vinny and I alone in a long, awkward silence.

Finally, after literally ten minutes of fidgeting, I asked, "What happened between you and Wendy?"

He avoided my eyes and lifted a shoulder. He remained quiet and so I stood up. "Well, I guess I'll head to bed too then." He bolted up from his seat and I waited for him to speak, but I was realizing that Vinny was still a very reserved and meek person. "What is it, Vinny?"

"You," was all he said.

"Me?" I was confused. "I've already apologized, Vinny, and I'm not going to say it again."

"No," he said and walked to me. "I mean that it was you that came between Wendy and I."

I shook my head, narrowing my eyes. "I've never even met her, Vinny!"

"I never did get over you," he confessed with a sigh.

"You weren't in love with her..." I summarized. Growing uncomfortable, I set my hands behind my back.

"Your Mum told me that you've never dated..."

I smiled a bit and tilted my head. "Have you been keeping tabs on me?"

"Is it true?" my question was ignored as he seemed desperate to know the answer. "You _never_ seen another guy after me?"

"Not a one," I told him seriously, locking my eyes into his.

Vinny closed the gap off between us, his golden eyes began to twinkle just like the sparkling fairy lights on the Christmas tree did behind him. "Your mother told me something this morning, Elise," he whispered to me, setting a hand up to my neck. I about fainted by the touch of him having had missed the feeling of it.

"Hmm?" was all I could manage as my heart began speeding up in excitement.

"She said, 'True love is not something to toss away like a broken piece of glass. If you are lucky enough to find it, _never ever_ let go. Hold onto it for as long as you can.'." Vinny didn't wait for my response, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine, lighting a flame in my stomach that I had forcibly smothered years ago. My mother's words replayed through my mind as we deepened our kiss without my realizing, and it was then that I decided that my mother knew.

 _She knows about Vinny and I. And she doesn't care..._

At that moment, with the way Vinny's tongue rolled around my own, I didn't care either. There was a reason that I didn't date anyone after Vinny.

 _I was in love._

I was in love with Vinny. And he loved me too. He was taking my mother's advice to heart, somehow knowing exactly how to entrap me. That was how we ended up in my room. Naked. Under the sheets. Touching, pleasuring, and loving each other. Softly moaning, gasping, and crying, trying to keep as quiet as we could to not wake up our parents. It was near impossible, believe me. Vinny was an excellent lover. I only wished we had done this before, I may never had broken up with him then. It would have been worth all the trouble.

We lay there for several hours, talking in whispers until Vinny abruptly leaned over to his side of the bed and picked up a wooden stick about a foot long; something I didn't remember seeing before. He then gently wrapped an arm around me. Shakily and very quietly, he said, "I need to tell you something..."

* / *

 _It is because of my mother that we had gotten married four months later, and I thank her every day for it..._

"May you two live together for as long as you wish, and love long as you live," the minister's words echoed through my head before he permitted Vinny his first kiss to me as my husband.

I smiled wildly. I didn't care that he was a wizard. In fact, I thought that it was the _coolest_ thing ever! Especially when Vinny would magical things with it, amazing me every time with his magical abilities.

I was excited to learn that if we had any kids that there was a very high chance of them being magical. I couldn't wait to see if this would happen to any of ours!


End file.
